From inception, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) gave ordinary Ugandan citizens a renewed hope in seeing a Uganda without corruption.
His Excellency the President launched this Unit three years ago with a clear vision and promise to the people of Uganda that the evil we call corruption would be dealt with decisively wherever it reared its head.
Since then, SH-ACU made key strategic partnerships with constitutionally mandated Anti-Corruption Agencies ie; The Attorney General, Office of Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), Office of Auditor General, Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA), Directorate of Criminal Investigation Uganda Police (some CID detectives are attached to SH-ACU to conduct investigations and arrests where applicable), Inspectorate of Governmentt, Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) and the Leadership Code Tribunal. Investigations conducted under SH-ACU were supported by reports of Auditor General, PPDA, FIA and the investigated case files are sanctioned and prosecuted by the DPP.
The media fraternity has been and hopefully will remain dependable partners in the war against corruption by exposing the corrupt and necessary information dissemination.
As a result of this collaboration, we handled more than 300 complaints every single day, reported to the Unit through the Call Centre help lines, by WhatsApp and SMS messages, and through emails. We should be proud that, as a Unit, we have handled close to 29,000 complaints from the general public and conclusively handled them.
To-date, ladies and gentlemen, the Anti-Corruption Unit has saved the Government of Uganda more than UGX32billion in losses, through our concerted investigations into several Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Key among these MDAs and private institutions were, Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) – COVID-19 food relief and Kasese flood victims’ relief items; Ministry of Works and Transport over Bukasa Inland Port Project Affected Persons; Uganda Human Rights Commission; Equal Opportunities Commission; Gaming and Lotteries Board; National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank; Post Bank Uganda; Soroti University; and Tropical Bank.
During the first phase of the hard work of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, 349 implicated persons have been arraigned in Courts of law, and 47 have been convicted.
The Anti-Corruption Unit also coordinated the repatriation of 617 distressed Ugandans from the Middle East, re-uniting these children with their worried and anxious families.
Ladies and Gentlemen, with guidance from His Excellency the President, I must stress that the relentless efforts of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit has been focused on serving ordinary Ugandans of all walks of life.
As I hand over office, I call upon you all to continue this focus on service. The work of the Anti-Corruption Unit has been assigned by the highest office in the land and is blessed by the Almighty God. We have testimonies from Ugandans across the country, expressing how significant the work we do here has been for them.
As I hand over, we still have 219 cases under hearing in courts of law and 172 case files in final stages of investigations. We are making inquiries into more than 600 complaints and continue to receive more from the public, our fellow Ugandans.
The Unit started out small but with the full support of His Excellency the President and have since established a veritable structure composed of five (05) sections with a total of 77 staff.
We have had many counselors, headed by His Excellency the President, who has always been on hand to support and guide us. I wish to thank the Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) and Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the UPDF Family for the support rendered to our work right from when the Unit was established.
I also thank our compatriots in this struggle against corruption – the Office of the Attorney General, the Inspectorate General of Government, the Judiciary, and the Security Services – and especially the Uganda Police Force which is a key component of the work we do.
Specifically, I thank my Commander In Chief and President, His Excellency Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, for creating this Unit and selecting me to lead it from inception. I thank you, Sir, for being a dedicated leader and father to me, as a person and a soldier, and to the nation.
Finally, I thank God for placing me where I am today, under the guidance of His Excellency, and I pledge to never let him down.
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6
For God and My Country.